#or maybe I'm just not used to having a lot of interesting and morally gray women about

[llycaons]

really exciting to see xff psychologically torment her annoying sister-in law from (she thinks) beyond the grave through the medium of a mean go opponent but also I feel a little bad...sry is a brat but she's clearly very young and has been spoiled by an indulgent and irresponsible mother, and it wasn't HER who tried to murder xff

[byemambo]

4Minutes EP. 1 - My Takeaways

So after finagling with my VPN options, I managed to watch 4Minutes episode 1 shortly after episode 4 of This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans released. Given that I haven't read a singular novel/source material for any of the series I end up consuming: my analyses are not anything more than just pastime fun and pondering thoughts.

Title Sequence

When I first saw the title sequence along with the score: I immediately thought of WestWorld (which I haven't seen the show myself because I'm not great with intense themes surrounding it but my professor showed us the title sequence and I immediately fell in love with it). The score is dynamic and although the title sequence itself doesn't give too much away besides showcasing the two main characters in fragments, it sets the tone for how I'll be viewing the series moving forward: intense, dark tones, small pockets of joyous moments within the storyline (but won't be the main focus of the story itself), and following the lives of morally gray characters.

Camera Angles (Bird's Eye View)

For starters, I noticed a repetition in using a bird's eye view angle to introduce us to new environments and exposition. Whether it be Tyme's introduction after suffering out a possible fatal injury, Great's apartment away from home (which his family members allude to his absence majority of the time in visiting the home), Korn being transported to the "department" that earns the family company most of their revenue, to Tonkla's place of stay (is it Korn's place as well, who knows at this point in the story). However, the scene that stood out the most to me is the right image in the third row of Great descending from his apartment level down a spiral staircase rather than taking the elevator as usual, which hinted at Great's spiral of wrapping his mind around his experiences with sporadic short term time travel and why time is warping the way it is. What I find interesting and continue to ponder during this point of the exposition: why is Great experiencing these symptoms and when? Did he start experiencing them out of the blue, or did he suffer some sort of freak accident or injury prior to the hit (and almost potential run)? Even during the family dinner scene, Great's father even emphasized him having to clean up after his son's "messes," so him experiencing the consequences of past accidents is possible.

I also appreciate the usage of the bird's eye view to emphasize the size of the characters within the space/environment they occupy. That in some instances, they're a small part of the entire whole within the context that they reside in. Tyme running away from the killer who injured him and left him for dead, Great occupying his apartment alone, his only companion that is briefly introduced to the story is Title (which rip for him not getting that calculator for the exam), Great also occupying the elevator to reach the bottom level of his apartment building (which makes me wonder if there's a correlation between the physical levels he occupies and the levels of consciousness he has awareness of, maybe even having its own spin on Inception's take on dream levels now that I referred back to the series's trailer). Korn taking a boat ride to the company's place of organized crime/gambling that seems isolated from the rest of the world where the story takes place, Tonkla's lack of fulfillment and feelings of loneliness after Korn leaves the apartment to attend family dinner (which a lot of us are speculating a cheating or romantic betrayal story arc). The director and cinematographer does an amazing job with utilizing the space through framing and placing each character within the composition, which is intentional and pushes a continuation of how a certain environment shapes the interactions between characters within the environment.

The Number 4 and Time

We know how significant the number 4 will be throughout the entire series, but my question right now is how the gift (since I don't think it's a power that the holder can control willingly) works and its parameters. From the first time leap: Great's car clock read 12:39 just before entering the tunnel and meeting his doom. However, after hitting the woman and attempting a hit and run, it had been four minutes since the incident occurred, latching onto Great and forcing him back four minutes to redefine his fate and making different decisions.

This also happens when Great pays the woman a visit at the hospital the next day: spending four minutes between speaking with the nurse at the desk and attempting to leave the premise after running into Tyme and desiring no confrontation. Once his phone clock reads 13:14, we are transported four minutes back to speaking with the nurse again, this time Great peeking at Tyme's visitation with the patient in room 1 and still running into Tyme regardless. Rather than walking away, Great helps Tyme with his papers, which makes me wonder just how much of these occurrences are solely coincidental and which are repeating itself for Great to revert down a predestined path for the appropriate events to happen in sequence. If Great hadn't left the woman to die out from her injuries or slow down the time taken to aid her injuries, he would not cross paths with Tyme. Even after visiting the woman and attempting to leave the hospital without saying anything to Tyme, time leaps backwards and establishes a second chance for the first meeting to occur. I wonder until the next episode is released: is Great only acting out based on what he's been taught and has known for majority of his life and being met with another chance to act according to his own volition? Is this a matter of nature vs nurture? Is he going to realize that he's being given chances to make different decisions that he will be better off living with than if he were to act based on what he's always known despite not 100% aligning with them?

Family Dinner (Introduction to the Dynamics)

Great doesn't strike me to be someone who thinks like an inherent nepo baby (at least that's what I got from Korn's character introduction as well). Between the two brothers, Korn appeases his father's wishes that involve the state of the family company's successes and endeavors, whereas Great despises them, seemingly living a more "detached" life (while still having access to things like his luxury car) of going to university and focusing on graduating. Again, with the director's intentionality when framing the characters within the environment, we get another rendition of rich family, empty homelife that we all know and love. Even Great establishing the disconnect even further by physically sitting in opposition to his father by being on the opposite end of the dining table, he not only refuses to become one with the family by bowing down to the head of the household, he desires to be viewed as an equal to his own father and cause a rift between the family members.

Despite being unified by sharing the same color grading, we can see how Tyme's home environment is much more inviting, much more lively, much more loved. We can see this through not only his relationship with his grandmother, we can see this through how the home is decorated and cared for, and see how Tyme's priority in life is to become a surgeon and take care of his grandmother by repaying for all she has done for him for what seems like majority of his life. I'm curious to see how the relationship between Great and Tyme play out after being introduced to their temperaments: both having their own expressions of stubbornness, Great being more outward and Tyme being more subdued. However, both characters have shown their sillier sides that's dependent on the closeness of their relationship around those individuals, so I wonder how long it'll take before both characters take down their walls around one another.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

I absolutely adore Den already. I feel the stark contrast between Pol in KinnPorsche and Den in 4 Minutes, which makes me so excited to see what Job will bring to the story as a more relevant supporting character that we couldn't get enough of in KinnPorsche. His smile is gorgeous and just from the kabedon alone in the image below already lets me know that his character is about to be a hoot, and I'm ready for it. The look on Tyme's face is sending me, which makes me wonder where Tyme stands in terms of romantic experience as he's a focused medical professional with a clear goal that may stray him away from other priorities in life like his social needs.

But how much I adore Tyme's relationship with his grandmother. Nothing is more wholesome to me than a family man, but specifically for their elders. The contrast between Tyme's relationship with his family versus Great's will be an interesting juxtaposition for both characters to teach and learn from one another's upbringing that carried into their adult lives. We still don't know their backstories so early on in the series, but I can only speculate that Korn's mother is either deceased or no contact with the remaining family, which may put a strain on how Great and his mother fit within the family's dynamic, since wealth and status seem to be key players influencing the direction of the story. One main character having inherent access to wealth and status that can save him from all sorts of struggle and difficulty, whereas the other main character coming from a humble upbringing that places a lot of strain on his desire to earn a living well off enough to take care of him and his family. We will definitely see how these core values will create friction or shape the characters' outlook on life and the world in which they occupy.

[novlr]

i'm writing a character who is a serial killer but not willingly if that makes sense. like, she kills once she finds that she finds herself in a murder or be murdered type of situation.

like in one scene, her mother's ex boyfriend comes back to try and get back together with her, but finds her daughter instead so he tries to s/a her but she stabs him and he bleeds out.

then in another scene she get's jumped by two guys and she stabs them both to death as well.

so i'm just wondering if you have any tips for writing such a complex character who kills but feels bad about it before, during and after the fact.

she doesn't enjoy the act of murder. she doesn't get off on it. she simply on kills so she can survive.

thanks so much!

This is a topic very close to my heart! I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in forensic psychology, both from accredited U.S. institutions. No fictional murder best-sellers under my belt, but it’s a topic I know a lot about. 

Sometimes, people kill for reasons that aren’t nefarious. There’s the cut-and-dry self defense (“it’s me or them”), the culmination of years of abuse, or sometimes it’s completely an accident (which is called “involuntary manslaughter”). 

Murder mysteries and thrillers are top-notch reads and go hand-in-hand with pop culture’s fascination with true crime. But what goes into writing an accidental serial killer, or one that’s more upstanding than you’d think? 

Define your morals

In order to establish morally gray, you’ve got to set the good and evil boundaries within the world you’re writing. Is it a modern-day story, where a cold-blooded killer is the evil one and a person defending themselves against an attacker is the good one? Or is it a more intricate fantasy or science fiction setting, where the laws and morals aren’t quite the same? 

The important part of writing a morally gray character, in general, is establishing the normal bounds of morality in your story world and then placing the character’s values somewhere in the middle. They’re not looking to hunt other people for fun, but the act also wasn’t a noble defense or socially acceptable resolution to the problem. I think that’s the hardest part, building enough plausibility and setting up empathy for the character’s actions while still writing them as a ‘villain’.

The vigilante

The easiest example of a morally gray killer is the vigilante. Typically, their motive comes from a righteous or judicial point of view, and they’re killing the “evil” ones. These types are taking out drug dealers, abusers, or anyone committing what they consider to be egregious or immoral acts. They perform bad actions to do good. 

Doing bad things for good reasons is often considered “lawful evil”, wherein a character is still following rules but they’re doing so in a ‘bad’ way. That circles us back to the beginning; there should still be a compelling reason for their actions. That’s what pushes their assigned morality back from ‘black’ into the ‘gray zone’. 

Crossing the lines

Consider what factors or events‌ would persuade a character to act in a worse or better way as a one-off circumstance, or a trigger that sways their actions. Perhaps they won’t kill parents, no matter what brought them into that position; maybe violence against women will often trigger a violent episode. 

Gray, on the moral scale, has the obligation to be interesting — so don’t think too hard about staying within neutral territory. Swing one way or the other occasionally with good narrative build-up and support to really bring out the character’s individuality. 

What if it’s always an accident?

Maybe your character is frequently caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, but they always manage to come out on top. What do you do then?

It’s first necessary to define a serial killer. Definitionally, a serial killer is a person that commits multiple murders. Murder being the key word — it must be on purpose for the act to fall on that definition. Otherwise it’s manslaughter (which is an incidental death where even if harm was meant, death was not). I can’t stress this enough: by definition, you can’t have a serial killer whose only kills were in self-defense or accidental. Your character must progress to proactive murder on more than one occasion for them to be considered a serial killer. 

Of course, that’s not to say you can’t have other characters (or even their inner monologue) refer to them as a serial killer. Social knowledge rarely sees eye-to-eye with legal or academic terms and definitions. I just caution you against using ‘serial killer’ in marketing material or descriptive collateral, if this is the case. It is a technically inaccurate descriptor, and someone waiting for that switch from accidental to purposeful is going to be sorely disappointed when it never happens. 

It could, however, be a great plot device to start there and explore the character’s evolution from unfortunate events to intentional murder. Maybe they were targeted for multiple violent crimes, and one day decided to be proactive and preemptively solve their problem (via murder, of course). 

Avoid the Angel of Death

While a vigilante may be a good character type for the morally gray serial killer, the Angel of Death is not. This type of killer is looking for personal gratification by taking someone’s life into their own hands. More often than not, the Angel of Death is looking to make themselves a hero by saving the day, and the deaths are secondary (and a sign of their failure). I’ll admit that the line between “personal gratification” and “justice” can be a thin one.

 The important distinction to keep in mind here are the moral definitions you’ve created: I can’t argue that an Angel of Death is serving any higher purpose than their own desire to cause situations where they might be a hero. It’s like hiring a hitman to take out a target, but intercepting the hitman just in time to save the target. The entire situation is at the mercy of the character; there’s no justice in the actions, no redeeming qualities. They don’t feel bad for sending the hitman — the outcome was planned from the start. And if they can’t beat the hitman? Oh well, better luck next time. 

Convincing the reader that the protagonist has a good (“enough”) reason for their actions is key to achieving the moral middle ground. A reasonable, morally upstanding person probably won’t resort to the character’s actions, but they understand how the thought process could bring them where they are. The Angel of Death is fabricating the entire situation; a morally gray killer should be working towards a goal, or acting on a strong reason. 

The morally gray serial killer isn’t looking to win anyone over, or get a standing ovation for their good deeds. They’re killing for a reason — a reason that wouldn’t normally drive someone to kill, but the reader can see how they got from point A to point B in the thought process. 

written by S.K. Eleteon

[midnightstargazer]

thoughts on sunshine james

I mean, it's not canon. I can see where it comes from, but it's not the James we see in the few actual flashbacks of him.

James, in canon, was very loyal and selfless towards the people he loved the most. He treated Sirius like a brother and welcomed him into his family's home when Sirius ran away. He accepted Remus when he found out he was a werewolf and went to great lengths to help him. He fought and died in a war that he could have opted out of, probably for Lily's sake and because it was the right thing to do. And, of course, he never questioned whether he could trust Peter, to disastrous results. This is where the sunshine characterization comes from, I think.

But he was also someone who had very black and white ideas about right and wrong. The other Marauders + Lily showed a capacity to see gray area when it came to the people they were closest to, or just in general.

Lily was friends with Snape for years, even after he started hanging out with the future Death Eaters' gang, even knowing he was using Dark magic.

Remus understood that the Marauders' bullying was wrong, but did not stand up to them about it and still saw them as good people. Later in life, he was able to tolerate Snape and trust Dumbledore's judgment on him.

Sirius gave us the line "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters" and was pretty forgiving in his assessment of Regulus ("stupid idiot" is a very mild insult to be immediately followed by "he joined the Death Eaters")

Peter - well, Peter betrayed them to Voldemort, so obviously he wasn't very concerned with morality.

James, on the other hand? Saw the world in black and white, not a lot of nuance. He absolutely despised pure-blood rhetoric and Dark Arts and wanted nothing to do with people who aligned themselves with those things. No exceptions. And while he was generous and loyal towards his friends, he had no problem being cruel to people he deemed bad. It's very strongly implied that his reasons for targeting Snape were connected to Snape's interest in the Dark Arts and use of the word "mudblood." He felt like it was acceptable to bully Snape because Snape was not a good person.

(I think there was definitely also some personal dislike involved, which would have existed regardless, hence the "it's more the fact that he exists" comment. But still, Remus and Sirius seem pretty convinced James hating the Dark Arts had a lot to do with it).

This sort of "it's okay to do bad things to bad people" mentality is pretty much opposite of what sunshine James usually ends up looking like in fanon. Largely because sunshine James is usually paired with Regulus. And, obviously, to make that work, even with the softer versions of Regulus that usually go with the ship, James has to be a very forgiving sort of person who's willing to see nuance and give people a chance, not someone who takes a hard line stance against blood purist ideology or Dark Arts.

This is why Jegulus doesn't work for me unless it's very far removed from canon. Because if Voldemort exists, and the war is happening, and they both have their canon views on blood purity and Dark Arts and join their respective sides, I just don't see it. If Regulus survived his trip to the lake and was actively working against Voldemort in the long term, then maybe. If his views also changed quite a bit. But even then, I still think James would be starting with a negative opinion of him and it would take a lot to get him to reconsider. I'm not saying Regulus doesn't deserve a second chance, or doesn't deserve to be loved by a good person. It's just... not how I see James at all.

tl;dr - canon James is a good and loyal friend but not an all-loving ray of sunshine who wants to see the best in everyone. The sunshine characterization makes Jegulus possible with a closer-to-canon plot and setting, but it isn't really compatible with James's canon characterization.

[cripplecharacters]

hi! i wanted to ask a question though because i understand its not rlly ur specialty im just asking if u know any other blogs that can help. I work with visual arts, and thats how i wanna do my stories, through something like comics, so i wanted to ask if you know of any resources to help me with properly representing things like scarring, especially facial scarring and facial differences.But anything on representing disability in visual mediums would help. Thank you regardless!

Hello,

I actually work with visual arts and draw a lot of characters with facial differences (FD) on the daily! I hope I'll be able to help.

I'm not aware of any resources for visual mediums specifically (especially if you mean something like a "how to draw [specific facial difference]" type thing. Despite comic book authors drawing facial differences for ages for their villains there really aren't any good tutorials that I know of) so I tried to combine a few points that maybe will be helpful to you;

Reference photos of real people with the condition your character has. Try to research the symptoms of it as well (especially if it's a syndrome) - maybe it will turn out that the symptoms your character has require a trach tube or a nasal cannula, or something completely different.

Don't overexaggerate their facial difference for the shock value...

...or downplay it for the cuteness/attractiveness factor.

What I mean is - whether your character is the adorable love interest or the morally gray criminal, their facial difference shouldn't reflect that. Don't make some kind of moral connection of "major craniofacial condition = bad person, teeny tiny scar = good person".

Don't draw your character with FD constantly covered in blood and running around with an axe. The portrayal of people with FD as violent/murderous is not only offensive and not helping the public perception of facial differences, but is also just incredibly boring and overdone. 99% of "representation" looks like this and has been looking like this since horror movies have been invented. I'm 100% serious when I say that drawing a person with a facial difference just having friends is a thousand times more groundbreaking than all these horror tropes combined.

Don't use the ancient "facial difference = joke" design trope. Authors love using strabismus, drooling, lacking teeth or skull conditions as shortcuts for "humor". These conditions are all real and real people have them (including me, hi). They don't exist as some kind of signifier that a character is "stupid" or "crazy". It is extremely prevalent and hard to unsee once you start noticing.

A lot of people in the FD community just want characters with FD that are normal, everyday people doing normal everyday things - having a family, hanging out with a friend, petting their cat... Not murderers hunting ablebodied teenagers through the woods. Maybe one of your character's family members has a burn scar without having it be A Big Deal, maybe one of their classmates has Goldenhar Syndrome that everyone just accepts, maybe the background character at the local supermarket has neurofibromas on their face... lots of options that don't involve tired villain tropes. With the advantage of a visual medium, you don't even need to explicitly mention that they have a facial difference - just draw it and let it be there. No dramatic reveal necessary.

Have a range of facial differences represented, even if it's just the side characters. Most people only ever draw scars, usually small and not affecting anything other than the skin, which isn't bad - a lot of people do have scars like that, and they deserve to be represented. However, there are literal thousands of different things that also count as a facial differences. Some of them like strabismus, Down Syndrome, tumors, or nerve palsies (most notably Bell's palsy, but there's 12 of them in total) are quite common, while conditions like Treacher Collins Syndrome, Pfeiffer Syndrome or Anophthalmia are usually considered rare - but a lot of people still have them. Having two or more characters with some kind of facial difference definitely isn't out of place.

This is more of a technical thing, but don't ever tag a visual medium as "gore" or "body horror" because someone has a facial difference. It's ableist and incredibly dehumanizing.

This page regarding facial differences in media (not only visual) is also worth giving a read. I hope any of this was useful. If you have more specific questions, feel free to send another ask

mod Sasza

[theamityelf]

I am once again thinking about Shuichi flirting with Makoto via talking about book characters

(YES.) (Follow-up to this post.)

"Yeah, he's my favorite character," Shuichi is saying.

They're sitting on nice, sunlit benches out on the school grounds. His hat is askew; he always turns it to the side, when he's reading, so the shadow cast by the bill of the cap doesn't block light from hitting the page.

It makes it easier to see his face, when he wears his hat like that. To see the shades of blue in his hair and the gold of his eyes. (Silver, in some light, but right now gold. When asked, Shuichi just says they're gray.) He's blushing a little; Makoto supposes that talking a lot makes him shy. He doesn't seem to be as shy with his classmates. In fact, Makoto has overheard him arguing with some of them, or correcting others, plenty of times. But talking to one's own class is different than talking to upperclassmen. Makoto himself isn't really all that intimidating at all, which is probably why Shuichi's been talking to him more. He's glad. Makoto always looks forward to hearing what Shuichi thinks about the book they've been reading.

The fact that one of the book's most boring characters is apparently his favorite is just another example of Shuichi having a fascinating take on things. "Really? What do you like about him?"

Shuichi glances up at Makoto, from the page, and his blush deepens. His gaze drops again. Shy. But he answers, with a smile, "I really love that he's always helping the other characters and listening to them talk about their problems, and...I know the author mostly uses his character to contrast with how interesting all the other characters are, but I think if the story focused on him more, we'd find out he's really interesting, too."

"Wow. That's a cool way to think about it. Even if he's not working for a top secret spy network like the others, he might be just as interesting if we could see the story from his perspective."

"Or even just spent enough time with him. As a character, I mean. If the main characters talked about him more, instead of just bouncing their problems off him or asking him for favors or hiding behind him when things go wrong..."

Makoto watches Shuichi get into the discussion, intrigued by the passion he's directing toward the open book in his lap. The last time he saw that trace of indignation interrupt Shuichi's shy disposition was when he heard about Kyoko inviting Makoto to a crime scene to introduce him to a few people he later found out were murder suspects. (Apparently, she wanted to see how they acted toward Makoto, since he was within the demographic of people the murderers most liked to kill.) Or the time he found out about Mondo inviting Makoto to a "bros night out" that turned out to just be a night out for Mondo and his gang while Makoto stayed behind at Mondo's house and answered the door when the cops came knocking and then Mondo snuck in through the back window and the cops asked if Mondo had been home all night and- Well, Shuichi just has a somewhat rigid moral compass. Makoto counts himself lucky he's never found fault with anything Makoto's done, so far.

"You really like that character," he observes, amazed.

Shuichi's intense look relaxes into a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I...I do."

"It would be a different kind of story, if it were about him," Makoto muses. "Do you wish we were reading a different book?"

"No, I like the story a lot. I just...The story is better because he's in it, and I feel like the characters and even the writer don't know that."

"I'm sure the writer does. How could they make a character that you like so much and not know it?"

"Sometimes...people don't notice that kind of thing."

Makoto turns that thought over for a second. "So, what would it look like if the writer did know how great the character was?"

Shuichi meets his eyes. "Someone might say something, maybe?"

"One of the characters? I guess that makes sense."

For a second, Shuichi presses his lips together, seeming to decide whether or not to say what he's thinking. Then he opines, "I think he and the investigator should spend more time together. I mean, the investigator is different around him than he is with any other character. He's softer, like maybe he feels differently about him than he feels about his partners or...his classmates...at the spy academy..."

Makoto has to smile at the timid but determined way Shuichi approaches his point. "So, you ship them? That's shipping, right? Hifumi taught me that word."

"Y-Yeah, I...I ship them."

"They could be good together. I mean, they've only talked to each other twice in the book, but they were good conversations. The investigator was willing to tell him about his dead wife; that's not something he told anyone else."

"Exactly! And...I think they could...take care of each other."

"Have you ever thought about writing fanfiction?"

"Huh?" Shuichi looks slightly startled by the question, like he's been woken from a dream.

"Fanfiction. Hifumi writes it, and I think you might enjoy it if you tried. You clearly have a lot of thoughts about the characters and...Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed! Did I say something wrong?"

Shuichi is hiding his blushing face behind the book, almost knocking his cap off his head. "No," he says into the spine. "I just, uh, didn't mean to get so into it."

"But it's cool to be so passionate about things. That's one of my favorite things about you."

Shuichi lowers the book just enough to peek at Makoto's face, then hastily hides behind it again and stands up. "Okay, I think I've got to go. I just remembered I owe Kokichi ten thousand yen." He runs off.

"Bye," Makoto calls after him, half-fond and half-confused. Why do so many of their book discussions end with Shuichi running off like that?

[lexosaurus]

Hi uhh i have a question i was scrolling at ao3 and i keep seeing pompous pep fiction a lot but i thought it was illegal because there is at least 20 year age gap im getting confused

AO3 is a creative writing/fanfiction archive that allows anything that's legal under US creative writing law. There are some limitations, like scripting out an episode of DP would not be allowed because that's copyright infringement, and posting something disguised as a fic that's not actually one (say, posting your headcanons list or your grandma's cookie recipe) isn't allowed because that's not a transformative work. But otherwise, people are allowed to post any fictional content that they so wish so long as it's tagged properly.

The tags are an awesome feature of the site and are why many people, myself included, choose to use AO3 as their main fanfiction domain. It allows you to opt in or opt out of any tag that you do or don't want to see. For example, I read/write a ton of gore, so I often filter in tags like "Dissection" (using the sidebar) so I can only see those types of fics. But there are tons of people who get squicked out by gore/dissection, so they might prefer to filter those tags out. Maybe they just wanna read a good smut fic, so they'd filter in that tag, while for me, I'm not so interested in that content, so I almost always filter it out before I browse.

I know this seems a bit long winded of me, but what I'm trying to get at is that because fanfiction is fictional, that means that ships and tags that you or I might argue are morally gray or even morally unethical are totally allowed on the site (aka no real children were harmed in the making of said fic, so not illegal). This includes Pompous Pep, which is Danny/Vlad. And if you don't want to see that, as many people probably don't, then the site makes it extremely easy to filter that stuff out! Woo!

The DP Phandom is a really really old phandom and we've had a history of "true vs anti" ship wars back in the 00's, which while a bit different than the kinds of shipping wars you see in other fandoms today, they still happened and were incredibly destructive within our spaces. People were fighting, there was lots of bullying, angry cliques, and overall moral policing "you can't sit with us" behavior to people who frankly didn't deserve it. There's not a lot of creatives left from that era, and the ones that did come back don't have a lot of positive things to say about it.

So yeah, maybe some people on AO3 write things that might squick you out, but from experience we've found it to be far more beneficial to just do our own things. Write the content you wanna write, read the content you wanna read, interact with the people you wanna interact with, and block/mute/filter out/whatever the rest. It's honestly not worth your mental health or sanity to try to police fics/art in here. We're too old, most of us got jobs, bills to pay, maybe even kids to feed, and it's honestly not worth our time. Besides, it's much more fun to participate in phandom events and nerd out with other creatives about silly AUs and tropes and geek out over art styles and colors than it is to worry about that stuff!

[katlyntheartist]

Dude I am so glad I'm not the only one who thought the movie was just ok. The writing in this movie was the trilogy's weakest. They spent more time on callbacks/easter eggs from the last films and shoehorned lines from the game instead of establishing Shadow as a threat and putting more weight into the stakes and having the story flow better.

I just hate how they NERF sonic and Knuckles so hard in the beginning, Sonic didn’t even fight back in the first fight and there’s wasn’t much action overall. The super fight at the was the only good thing to me. The ending where live and learn comes in doesn't feel big or earned because they focused so much on the robotnik v poppop comedy schtick (throughout the entire movie) it took away from the make it or break it moment. Also Gerald's grief over Maria didn't hit as hard because they never have a flashback showing us his relationship with her.

The overuse of comedy, lack of logic/no explanation as to why certain things happen like Robotnik's survival, Gerald being alive and escaping captivity, how easy it is to break into a top security facility and giving government official clearance if you act like a karen, how one of the major agents who saw her superior supposedly die didn't know he was in the hospital, putting too much weight on Tom getting gut punched where it had not been established that Shadow punching humans does more than just knocking them out, etc.

Shadow's characterization was the only saving grace for me which is a shame that he was heavily underutilized. It was like they had to use Keanu sparingly because he costs too much as a VA. I came in with low expectations after watching the 2nd trailer and even then I'm a little disappointed with how scared they were to commit to this high stakes darker story. If it weren't prudent that Maria's passing Being the catalyst that sets this entire story into motion they would've found some way to sugarcoat or side step their way out of doing it. They already made her death and accident instead of telling a more interesting story of G.U.N being morally gray. Idk....maybe I'm being too harsh but for what's arguably considered the best Sonic story of the entire franchise this felt like it could have been better.

I'm scared to answer this with anon off because Sonic fans are notorious for attacking anyone who dares to dislike any Sonic media

You make a lot of good points and I was thinking about most of these when watching the film. I do feel like once the general hype wears down, that people will realize the movie has more flaws than they realize.

And the last thing I want to do is to take away the joy that people have for this movie. I am happy that so many people are having fun and loving the film. I, like you anon, just wished that the script was tighter, the jokes and dialogue were less child pandering, and the pacing wasn't Illumination levels of 'fast paced with no breaks.'

[innocentimouto]

Positive ways to explore Jet

The Older Sibling

Him being very good with kids. Not to the point of shielding kids entirely from war because...war. Also him taking the role of the adult to the point he ignores a lot of his emotional needs and possible ways he could be wrong. Swearing to protect kids under his care at all costs.

Jet walking into a village and seeing some kids suffering and wanting to help, but if it would endanger the kids he already has with him, he won't risk it.

Jet actually falling for Katara and the Freedom Fighters noticing and wondering if he'll back out from the plan and Smellerbee getting angry and Jet promising that they always come first even though he likes Katara.

(I said positive, not healthy)

Not having faith in the Avatar

What's his view on Aang? Is he a kid to him, or does being the Avatar make him an exception?

For someone constantly painted as an extremist by the fandom, he's not interested in getting Appa to help them or in the fact that Aang's the Avatar. None of the kids are excited about it either. Book 1 had a lot of characters treat Aang differently just because he was the Avatar, whether positively or negatively.

Jet didn't care. There has to be many people who gave up hope on the Avatar. What did they go through? Did they lose hope or did their parents lose hope and so the novelty of the Avatar was never passed on to them?

Exploring that along with Aang's heavy weight of having to save the world and then learning some people gave up hope and the guilt he could internalize from that.

Also Aang bringing hope to people! Aang trying to get Jet to be a kid like he did to Katara. Aang's habit of having fun and bringing joy to others.

Fine with being a villain

I'm interested in the idea that Jet could recognize how bad it is to hurt innocent people and children but seeing no other way to save the kids and himself. Jet ignoring the wrongness of his actions until confronted again and again and then he snaps that it's war, who actually believes anyone isn't getting their hands dirty. War isn't a cute little hero story where you have the power and luxury to always do the right thing.

Jet never allowing himself to sit with his thoughts because then he'll look at the kids around him and then look at himself and then look at how much land his people lost and wonder if he will ever recognize himself again, wonder if it's gotten to a point that he can't remember who he was before the war destroyed his home.

Freedom Fighters not being manipulated

Tired of the gang take. He's 16. He's in the same boat as them. Develop the Freedom Fighters more and their relationship with Jet. Show their reasons for hating the Fire Nation. Jet thought Sokka would understand his actions. There's no way he then assumed the people he lived with wouldn't. The Freedom Fighters knew what they were doing.

Well knew to the point that Jet knew, which is to say traumatized children in war.

Give reasons for why these kids didn't choose to live in other villages. Trauma. Talk about the trauma. They weren't kids playing at being vigilantes under some brainwashing cult leader. They lived in trees, near a village that we still don't know if it was occupied or taken over. Trees. Imagine the winters. How many of them died from the elements? How dangerous was it to simply stay in a village instead?

Have the Freedom Fighters be morally gray too. The show could have used more of what could cause kids to ever do something so extreme something something tragedy of war something something judge the victims less than the perpetrators.

Fascination with waterbending or bending in general

Just sleeping on Hakoda adopting Jet. Or just Jet forming a relationship with any Water Tribe people. The Fire Nation tried to wipe out firebenders, and Katara survived against all odds. Even if we didn't have his quick thinking over how bending could work, out of pure spite he may just be interested in waterbending or airbending.

Maybe have him work with benders. Another contrast to Sokka who disliked bending in the beginning but could still find ways for it to be useful while Jet is fascinated by bending and also good at utilizing it.

Loss of culture

Contrast how much Katara strives to preserve and talk about her culture while Jet forgot everything. The idea is so foreign to him that he questions why it would even be important. Que Katara passionately talking about how it's their identity and a way they're connected to their people which inevitably leads to Jet understanding this is another thing the Fire Nation took from him, which he subconsciously always understood.

And then we have Jet, Katara, and Aang and conversations about importance of culture

Earth Kingdom Nonbenders (and Haru)

I've posted this before, but have Jet, Haru, Teo, Jin, Song and maybe some Freedom Fighters band together. Explore their different traumas and personalities. Will Jet take the leader role? How will Jet and Song feel being the only two without fathers?

Will Song's soft approach to everything rub Haru or Jet the wrong way? Does Jin remember the war or was she brainwashed? Will Teo hide how his father helped the army? Will anyone pick up on the fact that teasing Haru for his bending is triggering?

Having Jet in a group where he isn't the automatic leader seems like new territory and a good way to explore his character.

Also have Jet befriend and clash with people he's not directly responsible for.

[charrfie]

Ok, still salty over Two Realms (it SUCKED) so gotta ask you, how would YOU have done a third drawn to life game (I've kinda wanted one with wilfre seemingly being the antagonist at first before him either being dethroned or he was actually trying to help and fumbling it BADLY)

Ohhh I'm just so excited that people are so interested in my thoughts to the point I keep getting asks related to the topic!!!!! ^_^ Thank you it's very exciting to be able to talk to everyone like this. I don't often publicly interact with the fandom because of some bad experiences I've had in it some years ago but it seems like the environment of it has changed a lot... maybe I should be more vocal about my interest in the series? Everyone who's being so nice about it has been such a big help. That's unrelated to your question, I just wanted to express appreciation!

Now, to actually answer you lol.. I put this under a read more again since it's a little lengthy, but not NEARLY as long as my previous ask

-

Fellow two realms hater 🤝 It was just such a letdown idk where I would even start. The glaringly obvious answer is the actual gameplay itself what with the level design/lack of stylus being how it was but I think my personal biggest problem was the story itself. It seemed to retcon or at least gloss over a lot of the plot from previous games which not only felt clunky but overall lowered the stakes to such a degree... it made me not care about the character drama nearly as much. Which is such a shame! Drawn to life and drawn to life: the next chapter are genuinely my #1 most favorite video games to ever exist. I mean this with no exaggeration. Even if they're kind of bad. Lol. But!!! The potential that the story and characters have in the original two games completely reels me back in!!! There's SO much there, even if it's not put together with the most grace. The subject matter is so serious and something so rarely talked about, ESPECIALLY for the age demographic it was aimed towards. These characters feel so real!!! So fleshed out!!!! It's endlessly compelling!!!!!!!!

All this being said, I think what I would do is make dtl:tr a lot more character/story driven since thats such a major appeal for me in previous entries. While it's even more evident in two realms, both dtl and dtl:tnc do have levels that tend to be a big of a slog to get through in comparison to the 10 seconds of story the player might get as a reward; there would need to be more balance.

As for what this story would actually contain.... I'm a little conflicted. While I'm not the biggest fan of aldark as a villain (he kind of came out of nowhere just to fill a necessary role of "evil"), I *do* like the idea of wilfre being replaced rather than coming back again, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY like the concept of the shadow that controlled wilfre garnering the strength to present itself as a physical manifestation rather than a conduit. I don't even mind if it functions as a solely evil entity! There's something to be said for that just as there's something to be said for wilfre being more morally gray anti-hero than pointlessly evil villain. I'd love to do something in this vein, though probably leave the human world out of it? Or at least keep it very vague. The raposa world gives us as the viewers enough plausible deniability to accept ridiculous/strange events without question.... it's only because the human world is so painfully realistic that the ending of dtl:tnc has the effect it does. So needless to say that's a no on keeping it as the main storyline.

I really like your idea of wilfre trying to help and then fumbling. That's similar to what I wished for when two realms was first announced actually! I sooooo badly wanted to see him trying and failing to adjust to normalcy again post him being freed of the shadow's influence, which I talked about VERY briefly here following the games announcement. I'd love to see him trying to make amends with those he had hurt (a la "ice king apology tour" from the marcy & simon comics), rediscovering who he even is as an individual again, or parsing through what his relationship with the creator has become. It opens up for some pretty interesting conversations. Especially considering how much shit other raposa might give him when he fails to help in the way they expect him to. At the same time, I'd love to get some more dialogue on where jowee and mari are at in their lives. How mari handles leadership (as she actively struggled with it in dtl and dtl:tnc), if jowee has allowed himself to exist outside of the scope of others and their judgement/expectations, etc. The fact that those two get married at the end of two realms threw me for such a loop.... because even when nothing was actively threatening them in dtl:tr they still bickered so much? I'd really like to delve into how people can naturally grow apart as they age and come to understand they may not be right for those they grew up with, as painful as that realization may be. A remake of two realms could also be a cool way of having circi introduced into official canon since she's way too interesting of a character to be constainte to the non-canon wii game.

These are all the story changes I know for a fact I'd like. But it's hard to say definitively what the plot would be other than designating an antagonist concept and the general themes which would be at play. I'm not quite sure what or how a manifested shadow antagonist would again threaten the safety of the raposa world! I figure any retconning necessary for the raposa world to even exist in the first place could be as simple as "oh I knew we could trust the creator to establish a new world for us," which would also heavily contribute to wilfre's character struggles in a very interesting way. So that's not too big of a problem. Drawn to life has bullshitted more complicated things away than just that. I'll have to keep thinking! Maybe I can work up a proper dtl:tr rewritten au alongside the other two aus I have.

I'd love to hear other thoughts about a potential remake of two realms if anyone has them!

[cr1mson5returns]

my fav version of tim drake is similar to the post of yours that made me follow you

my fav tim drake is that time he got an uncle to avoid adoption taken to the extreme. hes never been robin, not a bat, but he does follow them on patrol taking pics and occasionally intervening and they cant quite manage to stop him. hes dick grayson's nemesis because he no matter where he is, all he can think about is finally getting that kid to sit down and eat a proper meal and take a nap. jason comes back from the dead and tim has been deterring batman from violence with a squirt gun instead of a robin and jason almost hates him more for it. damian thinks he is an excellent operative, held in high esteem by his grandfather, and at first tim doesn't know what to make of that but then starts putting him to use for shenanigans. you get the idea

Oh, God, but Tim maintaining a professional relationship with Ra's al Ghul is everything I've ever desired? This weird old undead motherfucker is constantly bugging him about joining up and being his right-hand man and conquering the unruly world together and bringing peace and justice once and for all, blah blah blah, but Tim just isn't interested in that. Sounds like a lot of responsibility to have at his age, frankly. He's good just calling in the occasional favor and redirecting Batman's fury with the League of Assassins.

Also, like...I've officially started tagging these things "morally gray tim drake has my heart" because he does, y'all. He does! I do so very much enjoy the interpretation of Tim Drake as a morally gray character regardless of age (but especially in the Red Robin run) and I do think it's a valid way lens through which to see him.

The thing that makes Tim stand out to me is this undercurrent of tone to everything he does which implies that he views himself as inconsequential to the narrative. I might be in the minority here and that's fine(ish), but I've always thought about what would drive an emotionally abused and neglected 13-year-old child to try everything in his power to save his hero from killing himself and/or becoming public enemy #1. And maybe I'm projecting, but it always seems to come back to: "Well, I don't trust anyone else to be capable of doing it." He tried to talk to Dick, and Dick wouldn't take Robin back up, but Nightwing wasn't what Batman needed. And sure, they could've waffled about and tried to find someone else to be Robin. But Tim was right there and in the absence of anyone else he felt was qualified to do it, he just...did it.

Tim sees Batman (and Nightwing and Robin by extension) as being so incredibly significant to the overarching narrative. He knows that Batman doesn't really reduce crime, not in a city with local politics as corrupt as Gotham. He knows that it doesn't functionally matter if Batman gets this guy and not that guy, because it all shakes out the same. When there's a huge crisis, when Gotham City needs a symbol of everything that's still good here, still worth saving, Batman shows up and saves the day. Batman isn't allowed to succumb to human flaws like grief, despair, and outrage. People need him to mean more than that. Tim will do whatever it takes to secure and maintain that almost otherworldly level of heroism for Batman. If it gets him dirty in the process, he doesn't mind. Tim Drake won't be remembered. Batman will.

Of course, this is also why I think it's so fucking funny that Tim is at a point where he's just throwing death wish ideas at a wall until something sticks and hollering at the universe, "JUST KILL ME ALREADY!!!!"

[felixravinstills]

How I Personally Read/Characterize Festus Creed

Because not everything can be about Felix Ravinstill. (Also yes, I'm using my own gif for visual interest.)

@persephoneprice, since you asked so nicely, I finally finished this post. This will probably feel familiar to you/anyone else who's read my oc fics.

Most people I've seen portray Festus as either a golden retriever type character (with a side of himbo at times?) or someone on the meaner side of Capitol students, and I suppose that I land somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I see him less as a traditional himbo (he's in the top 24 students at the Academy that's got to count for something in terms of booksmarts) and more of just someone who lacks polish in his interactions and social graces. We see him suggest very blunt force/violent approaches as solutions to get people to watch the Games in the book (Ch.6), and he seems to have less control over his emotions (crying about Arachne, obviously Clemensia admits to crying about the death of their friend too, but she and Coriolanus seem to quickly leave Festus at his apartment when he starts maybe implying it's not normally socially acceptable to be so emotional in public?) (Ch. 7).

In my mind, I think this lack of social grace makes some of the other Capitolites occasionally look down on him. Everyone has their slips once in awhile, but Festus has them more frequently.

Also I think the briefly mentioned dare that Festus put Coriolanus up to about making out with (hooking up with?) a girl in an alleyway (Ch. 13) speaks to Festus having a tendency to get himself and other people into some sort of mischief/potentially goofing off. I can't remember any other specific examples, but just his general vibe tells me he likes to goof off.)

Festus definitely has a cruel streak, just based on the casual way that he talks about his animal cruelty side hobby (dogfighting), and the aforementioned very blunt force solutions of getting people to watch the Games (Ch. 6). I don't think he's cruel in a malicious way (which is in a way perhaps more frightening but also more interesting to me). He's just not reflecting on his actions and realizing that he's cruel or mean. He takes things at a surface-level most of the time and won't delve into any moral quandaries without severe prompting.

Connecting to his movie portrayal, I don't actually think that there is much of a gap to bridge between my read of his book personality and his movie personality (This might be an unpopular opinion, idk.). Like ignoring the fact that a lot of the mentor's more sympathetic moments were cut from the movie, the film is consistent with the crueler aspects of Festus' personality that the book kind of hints at to me.

It might be hard for most people to imagine Coriolanus inviting Movie! Festus to Sejanus' memorial dinner at the end of tbosas if Festus interacts with Sejanus like this, but if you follow my headcanon that Festus is constantly putting his foot in his mouth in conversations and taking the occasional verbal spar a bit too far, then, while he still obviously looks down on Sejanus, there is a possibility that he doesn't actually treat Sejanus that differently from how he treats other people (see him teasing Felix). Thus, to Coriolanus, he would actually seem like a viable person to bring to that dinner.

While I'm disappointed that Festus organizing people to carry Coriolanus around on a chair after Lucy Gray wins was cut from the movie (Ch. 20), I do think Movie! Festus' more hostile reaction to Coriolanus' tribute winning isn't that out of character from Book! Festus if we consider that Coral was the runner up, and as the Games end with the release of the snakes in the movie, Festus probably felt that Coral really was about to win before that happened.

I also personally headcanon that Festus was at least a little upset that Coral died, because he had gotten used to the idea of her winning. Obviously, that isn't exactly on par with thinking of her as a equal and fellow human being, but there's a seed here for him to start thinking critically and sympathetically and realize that the tributes are people like him. Unfortunately, like with most of the mentors, I think it would take a lot to force him to reflect in that way, and in most universes probably isn't in the cards for him.

Overall, however, I do think that he is a great friend to those close to him just based on how he acts with Coriolanus throughout the the book, and he does seem to want to do what he considers the right thing, like when Reaper's starving and he tries to convince Clemensia to feed him (Ch. 18, although he does retract this statement in the next chapter). Unfortunately, the right thing for someone raised in the Capitol is very skewed.

Bonus: the reason I think that Felix and Festus might be drawn romantically but also in the platonic sense is actually Festus' constant putting his foot in his mouth/lack of social graces. It would appeal to Felix, because he can always count of Festus to be at least somewhat genuine in a world where so many people might be trying to use Felix's connection to the president for personal gain. On Festus' end, I imagine that having someone so accepting of his social foibles would be very comforting. So, yeah, I think they would get along even if I didn't ship them!

Anyway, I hope this makes sense! Surprisingly, I do have thoughts about characters other than Felix!

[fatuismooches]

I'm coping so hard with the fact I'll probably have to wait ~2 years to see Pantalone bc he literally has no reason to leave Snezhnaya🙂💧

At the very least I hope to see Sandrone in Fontaine please, please, please

I heard theory that Arlie will betray the Tsaritsa (bc Childe said he'd do that and Scara called her "wolf in the sheep's clothing", plus in trailer she's surrounded by harbingers figures, but not a part of them). Maaaybe GI will finally add more morally gray characters in character rooster and Arlie will follow us (and become playable as a result) only bc of her own benefit (kinda like Yae Miko). One thing I want is - please, don't change her appearance, especially her clothes, she's perfect the way she is. Don't add her skirt or shorts with kneesocks, leave her her cool tuxedo😔

Another theory I heard is that her arms are black not bc she's wearing gloves, but it's a damage from using delusion. Which... Gives me a small angsty idea. As we saw in Inazuma archon quest, delusion drains vitality out of their user, as for Crepus - he was in such great pain from using it that Diluc had to kill him. So, imagine Reader being concerned for Arlie bc she's in pain after using her delusion, but she brushes it off, after all she's a high-ranked harbinger, maybe she'll even try to hide her pain from Reader as much as possible to not seem weak in their eyes

-can I be 🥀 anon if it's not taken yet?

LITERALLY SAMEEEEE 🥀 ANON IT'S LITERALLY NOT FAIR AT ALLL 😭 Pantalone really is chilling in Snezhnaya, controlling the economy and money flow ig 😭🚶‍♀️ I also can't think of a reason why he would leave, other than perhaps a Liyue mission, because Yelan does say he has his eye on Liyue. I do have a lot of faith that Sandrone will appear in Fontaine, so I'm very excited for her at least!

Yup yup I've heard that theory too! I think it's super cool, and I can really see it happening. But it also makes me wonder how she'll survive if she betrays the Fatui. The Fatui probably doesn't take traitors lightly so she might have a lot of people after her if she does betray them. Girl's gonna be on the run I guess. And now who's gonna run the orphanage? The Fatui are losing their top members hella quickly, makes me wonder how the fight against Celestia is gonna play out. And i completely agree, she needs to keep her tuxedo!! But if she does betray the Fatui, it'll probably end up getting changed a bit, just to cut off association with them.

I've been wondering for a while why her arms are black even though she's not wearing gloves, and that's actually a really interesting theory. I can see her as a person willing to do anything for her goals... even if that means she gets injured herself (though she's always ready to use someone else to take the fall for her.)

You did not need to be a fighter to know the dangers of using a Delusion. It could grant you unspeakable power, but also have drawbacks better left to the imagination. Sure, the Harbingers were capable of controlling it. But sometimes things don't always go as planned.

She was strong, extremely strong, you believed that more than anyone. But you couldn't help but worry, especially when she nearly burst into your shared room, making you jump from the unexpectedly loud entrance. It seemed that she didn't expect you to be here right now, not at this time. You were usually elsewhere in the mansion. And she was usually not home at this time. And you immediately knew why.

"You're hurt," you quickly stood up. Something almost unnoticeable flickered in her eyes as she rebutted your statement.

"It is nothing. I am fine," she replied calmly, brushing off your words. You furrowed your eyebrows at her dismissal.

"Arlie, please consider taking a break from that... thing. It simply isn't good for-"

"[Name]. You know what my mission is. What I have to fulfill." Her voice came off sterner than she intended it to be and she realized as she noticed your quietness.

"There is no bleeding," she stated, returning to a softer tone. "I truly am fine. You need not worry. I just came to pick something up for business." You didn't want to sigh in front of her. Though her face had no trace of pain, you knew she was lying. She was hiding it from you.

You knew better than to push the subject. So right now, the only thing you could do was let it go, as you walked up to your lover and slowly wrapped your hands around her from behind. Arlecchino was still stiff from the tension in the conversation.

"Just... be careful out there." Arlecchino didn't respond, but she brought her hands up to cup your arms. Nothing else was to be said as the two of you stood there, relishing each other's company.

But your heart still hurt when you saw the medical supplies and pills you left for her were used.

[starrbitez]

I've been thinking about this for almost a month now, so I need to share this or I'll explode.

What would happend if the detoxifying machine was used on Evan (Evil Morty)?

Would his 'toxic' side act like a regular Morty or an exaggerated version of them? Agreeable, naive, forgiving, desperate for Grandpa's approval and love?

Morty prime's version of healthy was heavenly influenced by Rick, since he got the most praise and positive feedback when he was cold or violent (killing without hesitation, not pulling his punches), he started viewing those as his most positive qualities.

But Evan likes to be unapologetically himself, so perhaps it would cause the opposite. Maybe the 'healthy' version of him would be less violent and selfish, wouldn't be hate driven, and could just be indifferent to Ricks.

I think this idea is very fun to play around with. I'm curious to see what your thoughts are!

OKAY SO I ACTUALLY HAVE THIS IDEA IN MY DRAFTS !!! Right next to what would happen if Evil Morty went into the hole! I think in the future i will write something for this.

I do definitely think that Evil Morty’s Toxic self would be what he considers to be a cliche Morty, because in Season 5 Episode 10 he says “I hate you sell out Morty’s more than the Ricks you worship,” and also when morty says “i feel a lot better having seen that rick,” evil morty is like “of course you do”,, so I think his toxic self would be the part of him that is just another Morty in his mind; blind loyalty, overly trusting, obedient, nervous, anxious, dumb, overly empathetic, etc.

However, I don’t think his ‘healthy’ self would be violent and narcissistic and evil, because he also despises those traits in Rick, and while he exemplifies those traits, i think he hates them just as much as the cliche Morty traits, since his anger and violence is a trauma response. I think his ‘healthy’ self would be apathetic and uncaring, unbothered by everything, morally gray, etc, because he’d rather be someone with no Morty-like traits and No-Rick like traits, and someone who is unable to feel compassion or love towards another person—he definitely considers caring to be a weakness.

I’m definitely going to build off of this more in the future !! Thank u so much for this ask, it’s such an interesting concept, though I do doubt that Evan would ever go into the detoxifier himself, because I don’t think he considers himself toxic, (ie when in s7 rick says “you think you’re better than me?” And he says “god i hope so!”)

[altocat]

Ok, is it just me or is it no coincidence that Square is giving us a bit more detail on Seph’s background right before Rebirth is released?? We’re gonna see the Nibelheim incident in full remake glory most likely…and I’m wondering if they are gonna try to give us further insight into why Seph completely snapped in Ever Crisis. Or maybe just make it feel even more impactful, understandable.

“We still don’t know Sephiroth” is a very suspicious tagline.

Fears and anxieties aside, what do you make of this?

I...have WAY over-thought and analyzed everything. I've run it all in my head a thousand times over, trying to figure out the angle.

I think it could mean anything. That Sephiroth was a victim. That Sephiroth was always a monster. That Sephiroth was trapped in Shinra. That Sephiroth always had ugly interior motives. Anything.

What I'm hoping for is something balanced. "We don't know Sephiroth" is a pretty loaded statement because it's hard to guess how they perceive the audience. Do they think the audience views Sephiroth as a terrifying monster and they're excited to reveal that he's actually a pretty sympathetic character? Or are they addressing fans of Crisis Core who view him under a softer lens due to his portrayal there and want to set the record straight that he was ALWAYS bad?

I'm hoping it's the former, but with a slant to it so that Sephiroth isn't TOO much of a pathetic woobie. The fact that we will be playing as Sephiroth makes it interesting as I don't think Square is nuanced enough to make a game in which the player plays as the villain committing terrible atrocities. Or Sephiroth could just be bonus content after the story is complete and this player-perspective aspect means nothing. They're referring to him over and over again in the advertising as a "hero". Is this an actual hero story or is Nojima going to reveal that it's a meaningless title given Sephiroth's canonically violent behavior during the Wutai War? Well that's old news if so--everyone already knew that.

I don't mind sympathetic Sephiroth. I think it makes him more interesting. I'm hoping for something very balanced, and very true to the person we knew in Crisis Core. A flawed, but otherwise morally gray individual who DID have standards when it came to certain situations or people. A fall from grace that was fostered through the worst circumstances coming together, rather than something inevitable and preordained because we have the boring born-evil trope.

Ever Crisis makes me incredibly nervous because of how easy it would be to mess it all up. I think Crisis Core genuinely did a lot of good to making Sephiroth a more interesting and grounded character. Ever Crisis could very easily undo that if they push too hard in either direction. Sephiroth as he stands should be both tragic and monstrous, compelling, but doomed. Someone who could have well and truly been a hero if born to those who hadn't abused and exploited him, but also paving his own path to darkness through understandable human flaws and decisions.

Please don't fuck it up, Square. I'm begging you. Do not fuck this up.

[starsweepers]

⭐ - can be for any of my sideblogs too if you're more interested in those :3

multimuse meme ( not currently accepting, askbox closed! )

general notes for this meme for everyone: my suggestions are merely that! suggestions! and if i do not list someone you are interested in, it does not mean i wouldn't be down, i'm just trying to throw out ideas i've had. always open to further discussions and ideas <3

i have to apologize because outside of chrysalis, i am so unfamiliar with all the muses so if i suggest anything that makes absolutely no sense, i tried to get some research in, but my brain got overloaded and distracted and YEAH.

but anyways!

i know we talked about cleo and darcia! we should definitely continue that exploration, i'll need to refresh on all the things we were discussing and get ideas back together! but i remember there being potential there with them with a bit of finagling of cleo's story into the world. and i think if we can make cleo work, then laila also has possibility. and both laila and dawn have some more "magical" verses that could maybe add some spice into the w.olf's rain sort of world?

i also considered that gray could perhaps find a way to fit into that world. and he's character is very flexible, i think given his circumstances, he has the potential to be more morally gray and could be an "ally" or "tolerated" sort of figure to a degree. and could definitely make use of his wolf forms and some of the "revenge" ideas i've had with him.

probably obvious but misty or pipp or dawn ( mlp au ) with chrysalis. not that they'll all be besties, but misty would totally do the same thing and try to see if she could reform/help chrysalis after her experience with opaline and all. she and dawn are both very forgiving and tender even to those of more... evil minded? persuasion. and pipp i could see her maybe trying to take advantage of due to pipp's celebrity status and whatnot. not identical to using cadence but a similar core idea.

i thought briefly about piper and ahab? i don't have any full thoughts for them, but i was thinking it'd be interesting if ahab was somehow involved in michael's death. mayyyybe there'd be some reason ahab wants piper, as well, or just wants to reach to his family... michael could have been on her crew - he's more of a fisherman, but he still could have been involved in some capacity which is what led to his death.

dawn and ruff i think could make work with the mh characters. the mh world and berk and all can kind of coexist, and dawn has a h.ttyd au. so there could be various ways of making those work. nari could also be a possibility, just a little spirit of the world who looks out for the monsters and such. maaaybe faith, i feel like she could exist in that universe for some reason? but i'm still figuring a lot of that out so don't quote me on that lmao.

those are all the initial things that jump out at me! i think some discussions for a few things would be necessary to make sure i'm understanding the canons and such properly ajkl;fdsaj

@paradisecursed